Bowali

Bawali is a census town within the jurisdiction of the Nodakhali police station in the Budge Budge II CD block in the Alipore Sadar subdivision of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

==History== thumb|left|Façade of the 300-year old Bawali Rajbari, with [[corinthian pillars – has been renovated for use as a hotel.]] During the Mughal Period, the vaishnavite wealthy Mondals of the Mahishya community, who hailed from Nadia, established the Bawali Raj, in this area adjacent to Sundarbans. Originally Roys, Shovaram, the grandson of Basudev Roy (who lived between the end of 16th century and the early 17th century), was awarded the title—Mondal. Shovaram’s grandson, Rajaram, was a commander-in-chief (senapati) in Mughal army and suppressed a peasant revolt, and as a reward for his bravery, the Raja granted him ownership of 50 villages that included Bawali and Budge Budge. Rajaram’s grandson Haradhan, who became a trading partner of the East India Company, and his sons built many temples in Bawali turning the nondescript villages into a "temple town". At the invite of Robert Clive, some members of Mondal family moved to Tollygunge, Calcutta. They built houses and temples including a part of Kalighat Kali Temple and also the Choto Rasbari by the side of Adi Ganga. Mondals had matrimonial relationship with Rani Rashmoni's family and historians suggest that the architectural style of Rani Rashmoni's Dakshineswar Kali Temple was inspired by the Navaratna style of Radhakanta temples of Mondal family.